episode_0015

“Ms. Spade? Ms. Spaade~?”

“……Uh… huh…?”

Feeling someone shaking her by the shoulders, Spade faintly regained consciousness.

For some reason, her head felt fuzzy.

…Here is….

Looking around, she found herself standing in front of an abandoned factory.

And right beside her was Apple, a comrade from Unit 7.

“Ms. Spade, are you alright? You were just standing there blankly.”

Apple was looking at her with worried eyes.

Why was she looking at her like that?

I’m perfectly fine….

‘No, my head is a little… dizzy.’

Spade pressed firmly on her temples, trying to clear her mind.

Gradually, her memories began to clear.

‘Right. I was definitely… going to save Ms. Apple, Apple.’

Threatened by Villain No. 13, she had come here alone.

She searched for Apple… then got trapped in the inner storeroom… and some unknown gas was released….

But conversely, she had directly thwarted No. 13’s scheme….

‘That’s right… I definitely… thought I had knocked him out cold.’

‘When I went to free Apple and came back… he had already escaped.’

I thought I had knocked him out properly, but maybe he was wearing something under his clothes.

In any case, she had certainly defeated No. 13, but because he escaped, she couldn’t arrest him.

…It certainly seemed so.

“Right, right… Ah, that’s it! Apple! Are you okay?!”

“Kyaak?! M-Ms. Spade… you startled me….”

Spade suddenly shot her head up and firmly gripped Apple’s shoulders, causing Apple to raise her voice.

But in any case, Apple seemed perfectly fine, without a single injury.

She also heard from Apple herself that nothing else had happened to her.

If so, it meant he had staged the hostage situation solely to lure out Spade….

‘Receiving such a ‘love call’ from a villain is not at all pleasing.’

She thought this with a touch of humor, but still felt relieved that No. 13 had only targeted her.

‘No, in this case, Apple was in danger because of me… I guess I should apologize.’

“Ms. Spade? What are you thinking about?”

“No… I’m sorry. I feel like this happened because of me….”

“How is this your fault, Ms. Spade? Hmm… there’s a lot I want to say, but first—thank you so much for saving me.”

At Apple’s words, spoken with a gentle, sunlit smile, a sense of satisfaction welled up in Spade’s heart.

She had let that villain go… but, well, there would be another chance.

A vibrating sound.

At that moment, a vibration resonated from the small bag at her waist.

Her smartphone was ringing. The caller was… Club, another comrade.

She had asked them to provide separate support if she didn’t contact them after the promised time, just in case.

Anyway, since everything ended without incident, support wouldn’t be needed.

‘But what is this? My mouth… it feels dry… rough, as if there’s soot in it….’

‘And from my body, a strange… sour…? Fishy…? smell seems to be coming.’

‘And somehow… *there*… feels a little sore…? Is that right…? It’s a strange sensation… what is it?’

Although she had many strange feelings, Spade reported the current, concluded situation to Club as it was.

After returning to the Unit 7 base with Apple, nothing more was added to the report she submitted.

That day, everything concluded smoothly with Spade’s victory and Apple’s safe retrieval.

Except for the fact that, as a follow-up, the clumsy Apple took up self-defense lessons, it was forgotten as just another ordinary incident.

* * *

And in the storeroom, immediately after Apple and Spade had left.

“Don’t lie to me. I’ll cut off your hand? The Chief of Staff I know is a man, you know?”

Without even time to rejoice in the close battle against the Hero, No. 13 was throwing a doubtful remark at the silver-haired uninvited guest who had just arrived.

At the uninvited guest’s ridiculous joke, No. 13 spoke harshly, without even pointing his gun.

“This is clearly a woman, no matter how you look at it. If you lie, you’ll be punished, you know? I’ll just go ahead and attack you.”

“Hmm~ That would be troublesome. I am indeed your Chief of Staff, No. 13-nim.”

No, I mean, you’re not the Chief of Staff. You’re a different person.

If you prove you’re a woman, you’re proving you’re not the male Chief of Staff I know.

“Even if you say that, I am still the Chief of Staff. What you knew, No. 13-nim, was my fake body.”

“Fake body…?”

“Yes, a fake body.”

The Chief of Staff said, smiling.

The Chief of Staff, a member of [Abyss], was also an ‘Awakened One’ who used supernatural abilities called magic, and No. 13 was familiar with the magic the Chief of Staff used.

Magic of the disruption or support type rather than direct attack, such as manipulating shadows or creating and controlling dolls.

However, among the magic No. 13 knew, there was no type of magic the Chief of Staff was now describing.

“I didn’t tell you. It’s my trump card, so I couldn’t speak of it carelessly.”

The Chief of Staff said so proudly.

If he said it like that, it made some sense, so there was no room for rebuttal.

“…Then, is this your true body now?”

“Well? What do you think? Care to guess?”

The Chief of Staff replied playfully.

“If this body is my true form, if I was actually a woman… would you believe me?”

No. 13 looked at the Chief of Staff for a moment.

Then, with a sigh, he shook his head.

He had no idea.

Even if the Chief of Staff said with his own mouth that he was a woman, how could he believe it was true?

More than anything, for No. 13, who had spent nearly three years as friends with the male Chief of Staff, it was a difficult truth to accept, either way.

Therefore, he decided to postpone it for now.

They would discuss this matter later, bringing the conversation to a temporary close.

Although there were still some unclear parts….

* * *

Anyway, the Chief of Staff said, changing the atmosphere and continuing with the main topic.

“You’ve successfully captured Spade. As expected of you, No. 13-nim.”

Clap clap clap clap clap clap!

With those slender, dainty white hands, the Chief of Staff clapped truly like a woman, praising No. 13.

“Were you watching the whole time?”

“I couldn’t see everything, but I heard the sounds.”

The Chief of Staff subtly brushed up a round bob-style hair, revealing a wireless earphone tucked into his left ear.

“I’ve been listening all along, just in case. I attached a wiretap to that belt of yours.”

The belt No. 13 was wearing, which the Chief of Staff pointed to, was one he had given him as a birthday present a while ago.

To play such a trick with a gift… he was dumbfounded, unable to speak.

Before he could question him, the Chief of Staff continued speaking…

“Did you take the photos to submit to the ‘Villain Alliance’?”

“Here.”

No. 13 turned on his smartphone and displayed the photos he had taken just before Spade left.

In the photos, No. 13 and Spade were clinging together like lovers, kissing or rubbing cheeks.

Photos fabricated to create the lie that ‘No. 13 and Spade from Unit 7 are lovers.’

Even though it was the Villain Alliance, he had to be cautious about revealing his trump card, ‘brainwashing,’ so he intended to submit a somewhat fabricated report.

The idea was that he was secretly dating Spade by deceiving her, and through her, he would extract Unit 7’s secrets and attack from within.

Since an unspecified number of people would see it, he deliberately didn’t take any photos of them having sex or being naked, but judging by what he *did* take, no one would doubt they were lovers.

As for Spade, she had unknowingly become that villain’s girlfriend, but what complaints could a defeated Hero make?

Besides, she wouldn’t even know this fact unless someone told her. It probably doesn’t matter.

“That Hero is No. 13-nim’s lover—even if it’s a lie, it makes me furious… but putting that aside, this should allow us to get through this meeting without issue.”

In any case, the objective could be considered achieved, but.

Saying it was too early to be satisfied, the Chief of Staff pulled out a notebook and pen from his pocket and quickly scribbled something down.

“Even if we get past this meeting, if we don’t produce some results by the very next meeting, there will definitely be talk.”

“To prevent that, I’m going to formulate a plan now.”

“Because this practical application has begun to show the concrete utility of brainwashing.”

“As you know, our organization is quite precarious right now.”

“Unfortunately, there’s no time to rest. Let’s work hard together.”

Finished writing, the Chief of Staff turned the newly written content towards No. 13 and showed it to him.

The contents the Chief of Staff had just explained were listed in elegant handwriting.

Below it, in conspicuously large letters――

“The next target will be this woman. Is that alright with you?”

The two characters ‘Club’ were written on the notebook, emphasized with a large circle.